Heather Brady said when her son, Caden Walsh, showed up at the house on Feb. 9, he had a big gash in his leg. Walsh says he was walking home from Forest North Elementary School on Hyemeadow Drive - near Lake Creek Parkway - around 3:30 p.m. when the driver went onto the sidewalk and struck him.

The impact pushed Walsh into a tree and he became disoriented, and when he realized how much he was bleeding he crawled back to his home. All he remembers was that the vehicle that hit him was a dark-colored SUV.

"(I was) scared, I really didn't know what was gonna happen, I'd never had an injury at a time that bad," Walsh said. "I haven't ever broken any bones, not nothing."

Walsh's stepfather, Jay Brady, recalled what happened when Walsh came in the door that day. Walsh thought he had lost his phone when he was hit, and by 3:35, his stepdad was starting to wonder where he was - then there was a noise at the door.

"He's down at the bottom of the stairs, his leg is just covered in blood, he probably has a ball-peen hammer sized chunk of his leg missing, he's just screaming blood-curdling screams," Jay Brady recalled.

They rushed Walsh to the hospital. While he didn't suffer any broken bones, he had to get stitches for his leg wound.

"He could have been dead on the side of the road because somebody just took off, because they didn't care enough to even go check on him, they just took off, what kind of person does that?" wondered Walsh's mother, who is now making a plea to the public to find out who hit her son and left him on the side of the road. "Somebody out there knows something and we just want that person to come forward so we can get justice for our 10-year-old son."

Austin police said Tuesday an unidentified woman helped Walsh home, but they weren't sure how long she was with the boy or when she first helped him. Officers asked the woman who helped to contact the Highway Enforcement Unit at 512-974-5789.

"He's doing OK, he's in some pain. He decided to go to school today on crutches and everything," Brady said. Walsh can't play football at recess now, and his parents aren't allowing him to walk home from school.

Brady did go around to local businesses nearby and ask if they had surveillance footage, but none did. She is hoping that anyone in the area who might have seen something or have video of the hit-and-run will come forward.

The Police Department plans to increase patrols in the neighborhood, where the posted speed limit is 30 mph. The department has seen 49 reports of failure to stop and render aid since the beginning of the year, as well as 1,025 reports of leaving the scene of a crash.

If you're involved in a crash with someone, APD says you're required to stop and check on them, and then exchange information.

If you have information about this case, contact the APD Leaving the Scene Unit at (512) 974-5789 or Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS or text "Tip 103" + your message to CRIMES.